Why there should be a wiki integrated into every intranet

Within an Intranet, Wikis are a good means for the quick and uncomplicated collecting of information that is needed for the long-term; this creates a base of knowledge as well as a platform for communication that is always available to the participating employees.

The following Top Ten reasons are arguments for why every Intranet should have its own Wiki.

1. Slowing of the e-mail flood
It is true that e-mail inboxes function as extensive knowledge storage areas, but they often go unused; in addition, only the user has access to it. The management of documents and e-mail attachments is also particularly time-consuming as it costs valuable resources to search constantly for older e-mails within the filing systems to distribute further. In contrast, the Wiki is both a central knowledge pool to which even new employees have immediate access as well as a much more efficient communications system.

2. Up-to-date
Every employee can contribute his experiences and knowledge for the good of all. The Wiki supports internal communication – especially important for project management, which requires that every participant quickly informs himself about developments. The documents in the Wiki are, thanks to the collaboration, always up-to-date; the tiresome comparison of e-mails thus becomes unnecessary.

3. Open structure
Wikis adapt themselves organically to the company’s needs. In comparison to management environments such as data systems or databank-supported systems, they are not tied to strictly structured content requirements.

4. Powerful tools
Wikis have access to a series of powerful tools, making it possible to organize complex contents without undue time and effort. Internal links using WikiWords, external links, the hierarchical structuring of documents, the exporting of text, or the imbedding of graphics and tables can also be accomplished without comprehensive prior knowledge.

5. Flexibility
Wikis are more flexible than static websites, whose contents have to be updated using technical, time-consuming methods. When working on a Wiki, employees don’t have to work things out in a time- or space-constrained way, so they collaborate independently on the same contents. The changes made are online immediately.

6. Operability
Thanks to the WYSIWYG editor, Wikis are easy to operate. Using the relatively easy tags, every employee can easily edit or create entries without even having to know HTML code.

7. Transparency
Regarding Intranet-Wikis, the consideration of transparency is not to be underestimated. Especially within larger companies, it can be extremely positive when employees know, for instance, how colleagues in other departments actually earn their money. The communicative dealings among colleagues can be found under the motto ‘equal communication’.

8. Security
Wikis are tolerant of mistakes. If an employee completely misses the target, changes can be easily reversed and the Wiki can revert to earlier (and complete) versions. The functional handling of Wikis also includes the allocation of access authorizations for certain areas. Therefore, the view into the Wiki may also be controlled. Due to this customization potential, vandalism of the company Wiki is practically impossible.

9. Protection of resources
In comparison to other management systems, Wikis are undemanding regarding their system requirements. They require neither a certain operating system nor high processing resources. They are reachable from every – even older – Internet-capable PC and can be edited using every normal browser.

10. Cost savings
In comparison to many traditional tools and processes, learning how to interact with the Wiki requires minimal time. Test phases, employee training, and complex configurations disturbing productivity are mostly superfluous.

The following video summarizes the advantages of company Wikis:

The Intranet-Wiki is a management system with a nearly unbeatably affordable cost-benefit relationship, particularly for the descriptions of processes, how-to documents, and similarly long-term-use information. In addition, Wikis are, regarding the exchange and forwarding of knowledge, flexible, powerful, and sustainable communications platforms.

We would be happy to consult with you and to build you a Wiki solution customized to your company’s needs.

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